Disney World Crowd Calendar 2026

Are you planning your Walt Disney World vacation and trying to decide when to go? Let’s take a look at our exclusive Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar for 2026 to find the perfect time!

One of the biggest questions people have when planning their trip to Walt Disney World is one of the most basic ones: when should you go?

Figuring out the exact dates of when to go to Disney World is the first step of planning your Walt Disney World Vacation. You cannot make any other decisions until this step is complete. In my opinion, the number of people at Disney can make or break your vacation. I rely on our crowd calendar to help pick the best time to go.

What is a Disney World Crowd Calendar?

A Disney World crowd calendar is our best guess at when to go to Disney based upon how many people are visiting the Disney parks on any given day. For us, low crowds means a good time to visit. Low crowds mean shorter wait times for attractions!

Why Our Crowd Calendar Works

There are 3 key categories that help determine crowd levels – Disney events, holidays and weather, and school calendars. Our crowd calendar is set up to show trends based on these three factors.

1.  Disney Events

Any event that Disney is hosting WILL affect crowd levels so it’s important that we know about them. We have looked up 2026 dates for the following:

• runDisney events
• Cheerleading and dance competition dates
• EPCOT annual festivals
• Specific Disney events

2. Weather and Holidays                                                    

Crowd predictions for Disney World have become more challenging over the years. One thing is certain – any federal holiday that results in a 3 day weekend will be busy at Disney World. We have noted every single holiday as well as the typical weather for each month.

3. School Calendars

Of course we don’t know every school calendar, but there are trends. Spring breaks bring extra crowds for a solid 4-6 weeks, Jersey week happens, and of course everyone is off around Christmas.

You may not have kids in school and think you don’t need to worry about school calendars – but you definitely need to take them into consideration.

Month By Month – When to Avoid Disney And When To Go

2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

January 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 72°, 4 days with precipitation this month. What to wear in January packing list.

Holidays and Walt Disney World Events in January

• January 1 New Years Day
• January 1-4 Holiday Activities
• January 7 – 11 runDisney Marathon. Walt Disney World Marathon weekend (which includes the Walt Disney World 5k, 10k, Half Marathon  Goofy’s Race and Half Challenge, Dopey Challenge and the Marathon) is happening and some schools are still on break which makes this time not only busy but early morning road and park traffic on race days can be very difficult to maneuver around.
• January (middle) – Festival of the Arts and Cuisine begins
• January 16 – 18 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships
• January 19 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Martin Luther King weekend (Jan. 16-19) brings a 3 day federal holiday weekend and college Cheerleading and Dance competitions. While this weekend isn’t one of the busiest, it is wise to be aware that crowds are higher than what you may expect.
• January 30-February 1 National School Spirit Championship, Division 2

February 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 75°, 4 days with precipitation this month

Holidays and Disney Events in February

• February 6-8 National School Spirit Championship, Division 1
• February 9 – Super Bowl Specials, Character parades, “I’m going to Disney World” celebration
• February 14 Valentine’s Day
• February 14-16 President’s Day Weekend
• February 17 Mardi Gras Week
• February 26-March 2 runDisney Princess Half Marathon weekend.  The half marathon event also includes a 5k, 10k, and the Belle Challenge.
• February 28 – March 2 The Contest of Champions which is an open dance and drill competition that takes place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World.

March 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 79°, 5 days with precipitation this month

Holidays and Disney Events in March

• March 4 – June 1 Flower and Garden Festival in Epcot. You will see beautiful topiariy displays of Disney characters. There is also a concert series.
• March 4 Zootopia 10th Anniversary
• March 14-15 UCA International All Star Cheerleading Championship
• March 17 St. Patrick’s Day

Overall, this month is rolling with spring breaks throughout the country and a wide variety of High School and College competitions and school outings happening throughout the month.  

If you go to Disney World in March, go early! As the month goes along, the crowds tend to increase with spring breaks and school functions.

April 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 84°, 4 days with precipitation this month.

Holidays and Disney Events in April 

• All month – Flower and Garden Festival in Epcot
• April 3-5 Easter weekend. The week before Easter and Easter weekend are generally a very busy time as many students are off school coinciding with spring breaks. 
• April 5 Easter Sunday, egg hunts, themed snacks and floral displays
• April 16-20 runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend. 5K, 10K, 10 mile and Challenge combining all three races
• April 22 Earth Day and Animal Kingdom Anniversary
• April 22-24 ICU Cheerleading & Dance World Championships
• April 24-27 US All Star Federation Cheerleading and Dance Worlds

Similar to March, April usually has a full slate of activities and holidays that can cause it to be pretty crowded most of the month.

May 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 88°, 6 days with precipitation this month 

May can be a great time to go to Disney World!  Weather is great, events have died down and school is still in session. As a general rule, weekends will be heavier than weekdays but overall, the crowds tend to be smaller throughout the month.

Holidays and Disney Events in May

• All month – Flower and Garden Festival in Epcot
• April 30-May 3 The Summit-Varsity All Stars Cheerleading and Dance Championship
• May 4 Star Wars Day. This would be a fun but busy time to be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. May the Fourth be with you!
  May 5 Cinco De Mayo
• May 19 other’s Day
• May 22-September 12 Disney H2O Glow Nights at Typhoon Lagoon
• May 23 – 25 Memorial Day Weekend
• May 25 Memorial Day – Holiday weekend and the beginning of summer break in some parts of the country. Memorial Day is not only the unofficial start to summer in the general USA, it is also the summer kick off at Disney World! The parks start to stay open later beginning Memorial Day (usually staying open until 10:00 pm rather than 9:00 pm).

June 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 91°, 12 days with precipitation this month. Keep in mind that during the summer months quick afternoon rain showers are very common.

June is hot, humid, and rainy but the crowds are not typically overly crowded, especially during the weekdays. The first full week of June should be the best of the month because many schools are not out yet.

Holidays and Disney Events in May

• All month – Disney H2O Glow night at Typhoon Lagoon
• All month – Flower and Garden Festival in Epcot
• June 1- August 31 runDisney Virtual Series
• June 9 Cars 20th Anniversary
• June 21 Father’s Day
• June 21 Hunchback of Notre Dame 30th Anniversary

July 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 92°, 13 days with precipitation this month. Keep in mind that during the summer months quick afternoon rain showers are very common.

Holidays and Disney Events in July

• All month – Disney H2O Glow night at Typhoon Lagoon
• July 2 The Great Mouse Detective 40th Anniversary
• July 3-6 Fourth of July Weekend. July 4th brings heavy crowds at the Magic Kingdom. Disney is known for its incredible fireworks displays along with a holiday weekend. Both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot have special 4th of July celebrations. Disney Springs has special 4th of July decor and the Animal Kingdom usually has special food and beverages to celebrate America’s Independence Day.
• July 9 – 14 World Dance Competition
• July 9-August 9. Flavors of Florida at Disney Springs
• July-November (specific dates TBA) Food and Wine Festival at Epcot

The rest of July is very busy on weekends but similar to June, the weekdays are doable. If you can brave the heat and humidity (average is 74% humidity in Orlando in July) it is not a bad time to go.

August 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 91°, 14 days with precipitation this month. Keep in mind that during the summer months quick afternoon rain showers are very common.

• All month – Disney H2O Glow nights at Typhoon Lagoon
• August 14 – Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom begins (ending on October 31)
• August 27-Nov 21 Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. The Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Avoid Epcot during the weekends as it is a favorite place for the locals to visit.
• August 24-28 World Princess Week
• August 30-September 1 Labor Day weekend

Middle of August – crowds start to decrease as school starts in some parts of the country. The temperatures are also beginning to back off just a bit toward the very end of August. Do be aware that tropical storms and hurricanes often form from mid-August to late October.

Be aware that Epcot can get very busy as the Food and Wine Festival is very popular. Check out August 17-31 If your kids are not in school yet, consider this time of year to go! It’s typically a great time to visit.

September 2026 Disney Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 89°, 11 days with precipitation this month

Holidays and Disney World Events in September

• September 7 – Labor Day
• September 5-September 7 (Labor Day Weekend) – A holiday weekend with heavy crowds. One thing to note, Labor Day itself is one of the least busy holiday Mondays as visitors will often head home the Sunday of Labor Day weekend.
• September 12 H20 Glow Nights End
• All Month Food and Wine Festival at Epcot
• All Month Mickey’s Not-So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom

The rest of September is a great time to visit Disney World as schools are in session throughout the country. This would be especially great if you have toddlers who are not currently in school.

October 2026 Disney World Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 85°, 5 days with precipitation this month

Holidays and Disney World Events in October 

• All Month Mickey’s Not-So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom
• All Month: Food and Wine Festival at Epcot
• October 1 Magic Kingdom 55th Anniversary
• October 9-12 – Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day and school fall breaks all occur here.  Crowds will reflect it.
• October 22-25 runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend
• October 31 Halloween

October 1-6 This is a great time to go if you can.  Lower temps, lower crowds. Halloween is one of the biggest holidays at Disney World. It will be busy, but it is incredibly fun.

November 2026 Disney World Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 78°, 3 days with precipitation this month

Holidays and Disney Events in November

• November 1 Transformation to Christmas begins (decorations start going up)
• November 3 – Election Day
• November 4 – December 18 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
• November 8 – December 20 Hollywood Nights Christmas Party (Hollywood Studios)
• November 10-15 Jersey Week (New Jersey schools are out and Disney World becomes a popular destination)
• November 11 Veterans Day (observed) – Federal holiday which brings heavy crowds
• November 21 Food and Wine Festival at Epcot ends
• November 23 Moana 10th Anniversary
• November 23-29 Thanksgiving Holiday week which brings heavy crowds.  Generally speaking Saturday-Wednesday is less busy than Thursday-Sunday of this week. Christmas decorations at Disney World are up during this week.
• November 27-December 25 Epcot International Festival of the Holidays

December 2026 Disney World Crowd Calendar

Weather: Average high temperature is 75°, 4 days with precipitation this month

Holidays and Disney Events in December

• December 1-31 runDisney Virtual 12Ks of Christmas
• December 18 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom ends
• December 25 Festival of the Holidays at Epcot ends
• December 25 – Christmas
• December 31 New Year’s Eve

Be aware that in the second half of December you will find Christmas holiday crowds leading into New Year’s. The Christmas crowds are a real thing. 

Disney is known to have the highest attendance of visitors between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Not only are the crowds high, but generally, cost of everything is higher this time of year. 

If you are trying to stay on a budget please take all this into consideration.

Dave Says:
Other than the first week of January, I like this time to go to Disney! The weather can be a bit unpredictable and it can be a bit chilly but typically not too bad and the crowds tend to be much lower after all the holidays.

How To Decide When To Go To Disney World

When you decide to go to Disney World hinges on a lot of personal factors specific to you and your family as well. Some questions you need to ask yourself are:

1. How important is the crowd factor to me during my visit?
2. Am I ok with my children missing some school?
3. What kind of weather do I want to have?
4. Do I want to spend a chunk of my time at the pools and Typhoon Lagoon?
5. Do I want to visit during special times, like during one of the Epcot Festivals such as the food and wine festival or flower festival?

If I were to pick 3 of my favorite weeks to go from our Disney World Crowd Calendar, it would be:

• The last week of August
• The first week of October
• The first week of December. In early December the Christmas decorations are up but the Christmas crowds haven’t started yet.

I also like the entire month of September because school is in session throughout the country which makes crowds lower, and the competitions that are so wide spread from January through April haven’t started yet. This is a perfect time to go on an adults only trip!

We do have a post that helps a bit more with when the best time is for you to book your Walt Disney World vacation. It will go through a bit more detailed information on budget and timing.

Now that you know when to go, be sure to check out our month by month packing guide for what to wear at Disney World! If you are wondering where to stay during your visit start here: find out if you should stay onsite at Disney World or offsite!

We hope you found our Disney World Crowd Calendar to be helpful! Be sure to share it with your friends and family who are planning their own trip!